Small kitchen remodeled to be better, not bigger

Candice Cain and John Lee's kitchen

Ringo H.W. Chiu / For The Times

By Lisa Boone When Center Theatre Group costume director Candice Cain and actor John Lee went to remodel the kitchen in their 1916 house in the Echo Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, they knew that bigger would not necessarily be better. They didn't need the space doubled or a massive island added. They just needed their galley kitchen to function better as a galley kitchen. Here's a look at the couple's results after they worked with contractor Matthew Pope, who specializes in period homes ...

By Lisa Boone When Center Theatre Group costume director Candice Cain and actor John Lee went to remodel the kitchen in their 1916 house in the Echo Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, they knew that bigger would not necessarily be better. They didn't need the space doubled or a massive island added. They just needed their galley kitchen to function better as a galley kitchen. Here's a look at the couple's results after they worked with contractor Matthew Pope, who specializes in period homes ... (Ringo H.W. Chiu / For The Times)

This "before" photo shows the old pine cabinets and fake wood-paneled walls that made the kitchen seem more like a porch. "It had been shoved together with salvaged parts," said contractor Pope, who added: "It looked like it was a mud room that later became a kitchen."

This "before" photo shows the old pine cabinets and fake wood-paneled walls that made the kitchen seem more like a porch. "It had been shoved together with salvaged parts," said contractor Pope, who added: "It looked like it was a mud room that later became a kitchen." (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)